The Bachelor and the Sheriff's Daughter
by Serena Thorn
Summary: Keith requests that Lamb spend time with 16-year-old Veronica to curb her crush on the deputy. Only Keith hadn't imagined his plan backfiring.
1. The Proposition

Title: The Bachelor and the Sheriff's Daughter (1/11)  
Rating: PG-13 (for language and innuendo)  
Summary: Keith requests that Lamb spend time with 16-year-old Veronica to curb her crush on the deputy. Only Keith hadn't imagined his plan backfiring.  
Spoilers: None for this chapter  
Pairing/Characters: Eventual V/Lamb, Keith, Lilly, Sacks, mentions Lianne, Aaron, canon Lilly/Logan and canon Dick/Madison  
Word Count: 1179 (this chapter)Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: Yes, this was inspired by "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" but it holds no spoilers for the film and you don't need to see it in order to understand this. 

* * *

Chapter 1:

"Don, could I see you for a moment?" Keith asked his deputy with a wave of his hand towards his office.

"Uh, sure," he replied as he stood from his desk. But not before he once again caught his mentor's daughter's stare that she broke the second he looked at her. He couldn't help a small smile as he headed towards the office. Not that his ego really needed the extra stroking, but he couldn't deny enjoying that he just happened to be the one Veronica had a not-so-secret crush on.

She was cute, but he didn't have a death wish so he made sure to keep his looking to a minimum. Her father was his boss and she was only sixteen. Still, she was there as much as she could be and nearly every day, it wasn't a secret as to why when he was the one she always made it a point to talk to and simply be around when she could.

All the while he couldn't really say he minded. Winning points with the sheriff's daughter would translate into winning points with the sheriff, right? Maybe into a recommendation should he need it? Maybe into a sheriff gig of his own one day?

"Have a seat, Don," Keith told him as he walked around to take his own seat.

Okay, maybe he hadn't been winning points after all. Oh well, there was always private security and other counties if he was about to be fired.

"I'm pretty sure you've noticed how my daughter has been loitering around the station more lately," Keith sighed as he took his seat.

"Yeah. I didn't think you minded though, since she's not usually under foot or anything."

Keith wasn't quite sure how to put it, but he decided then coming right out with it might be the best option. "It seems Veronica has developed a fondness for you. Really, I don't have much of a problem with that as it hasn't been negatively affecting your work and you and she seem to get along. However, there is something I must ask you."

Lamb had sensed this conversation would come. He hadn't looked forward to it as he had somewhat considered Veronica a friend, but he had sensed it all the same. If nothing else she had really made him feel welcome here in Neptune. But he was twenty-six and she was sixteen and he knew Keith had a right to be worried since Veronica didn't exactly act, or entirely look, her age.

"Don, how would you feel about spending more time with Veronica? Namely outside of the station?"

"What?" Had he heard that right?

"If you have some free time I would appreciate it if you would spend time with her. See, I believe part of the reason that she's so enamored with you is because she doesn't know you."

Lamb tried not to laugh at that. Being flat out told that she wouldn't like him after getting to know him. Nice.

"I think that if she has less to romanticize about you in her head the more likely it is she'll go back to her world of pep rallies, malls and basketball games."

"What do I have to do?"

"You'll see Veronica as often as I feel appropriate, weekends should be good. I'll be sure you have off. As soon as her infatuation with you wears off you can resume your usual weekend activities."

"And what if it doesn't wear off?" he asked, hoping not to sound too cocky.

"It will," Keith assured him. Veronica was a teenage girl, these things happened and often inside of a month, or less, she would have a new interest. He hoped in her own age group.

Lamb couldn't say he liked how certain Keith sounded, he preferred to think of himself as irresistible. As it was he was only single now by choice. It had nothing to do with the fact none of the women he had dated recently didn't have as quick of a wit or sharp of a tongue as he had discovered he liked.

"Now don't get me wrong, Don. I don't like this idea as it's against my better judgment and I'd probably arrest you if I wasn't the one giving you permission for this. But I do think this is the only way that Veronica will stop spending so much of her free time here and will return to spending time with her friends and boys her own age."

Lamb nodded. "I gotcha. So, turn down the charm, pig out on onion rings if we grab a bite to eat? That kinda thing?" Keith was asking him this directly and frankly he didn't mind the idea of spending one on one time with Veronica. He could only hope his 'yes' wouldn't come as being too enthusiastic.

"Exactly. Let her see that there isn't a chance for you to be more then friends, that there isn't much you two have in common."

Lamb stood from his seat and smirked. "So when do I start, boss?"

Keith laughed. He hadn't been sure Lamb would go for it, but he had to admit he was relieved. It was nice to see the younger man seemed to want to get Veronica back to her normal teenaged life as much as he did. "Sooner the better."

"You look happy. What happened in there?" Veronica asked with a quirked brow when she saw Lamb return to his desk with a grin that was reaching those gleaming eyes of his.

"What are you doing this weekend?" he asked, deciding to get a jump on this. Not that he was really in a rush for her to forget about him, but if absence made the heart grow fonder then he could only imagine what she would have planned for him on her eighteenth birthday if this went the way it was supposed to. As sick as he knew it was, he couldn't wait to find out. In that moment he wondered if he wasn't more excited for that day then she was.

"I don't know of anything. Why?" She was getting worried. Had Dad transferred him?

"Trick question. I know what you're doing. You are going to have yourself a police escort to the boardwalk arcade or beach or movie of your choice. On me."

"What? Is this a trick? What's going on? Did my dad put you up to this?"

"Actually, he did," he whispered as he leaned in to her. "But apparently he doesn't mind this friendship you and I have going so he's asked me to spend more time with you. That is, if you don't mind being seen around town with some old guy," he went on before his signature smirk crossed his face as he settled back in his chair.

_Did I somehow forget it's my birthday? No, wrong month. Okay, what the hell? Who cares?! Deputy Don is mine this weekend!_

"I don't know, Deputy, think you can keep up with me?"

"One way to find out," he answered.


	2. A Day at the Arcade

Title: The Bachelor and the Sheriff's Daughter (2/11)  
Rating: PG-13 (for language and innuendo)  
Summary: Keith requests that Lamb spend time with 16-year-old Veronica to curb her crush on the deputy. Only Keith hadn't imagined his plan backfiring.  
Spoilers: None for this chapter  
Pairing/Characters: Eventual V/Lamb, Keith, Lilly, Sacks, mentions Lianne, Aaron, canon Lilly/Logan and canon Dick/Madison  
Word Count: 1842 (this chapter)  
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: Yes, this was inspired by "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" but it holds no spoilers for the film and you don't need to see it in order to understand this.

* * *

Chapter 2:

"So we agreed on the arcade at the boardwalk, right?" Don asked as they climbed into his car on that sunny Saturday afternoon.

"Or we could take in an R-rated movie," she grinned. If she was allowed to have a friend ten years her senior she wanted to make the best of it.

"No," he told her. He knew his limits and he knew she would barrel through them if he let her.

"Will you buy me beer?"

"No," he answered as he started the car. The arcade, yes. That's where they were going. He could do this. He could survive a day alone with Veronica Mars.

"Will you let me drive your cruiser and play with the lights and siren?"

"There's a reason we're in my off-duty, personal vehicle. Forget it."

"I can't help it. I'm not used to having a friend who's over twenty-one. You can't fault me for wanting to enjoy it."

"How about we stick to things that your dad won't shoot or fire me for, alright? Deal?"

Veronica shrugged. "Deal. But just so you know, I plan to smoke you at every game."

He smirked as he glanced from the road to her for just a second. "You think you can?"

"Oh yeah. Table air hockey, ski ball? You are mine, Deputy."

"I don't know, you might recognize some initials on the high score board for Pac-Man. Just sayin'."

Okay, she knew that shouldn't have impressed her but it did. Now the air was thick with competition and he was game.

It was so on.

"Alright, Veronica, ready to put your money where your mouth is?" he grinned once he had gotten them ten bucks worth of tokens.

"I think you mean your money where my mouth is. But yes. Name the game," she told him, that same challenge in her eyes that she was finding in his.

"They've got mini-golf."

She scrunched her nose and shook her head. Walking a little more with him something caught her eye. "Oooh, this looks fun," she grinned when she looked to a futuristic cop game.

He scoffed. "No. Way. I win, I get accused of cheating because I'm a deputy. You win, I'll never hear the end of it. Tell you what, how about we head over to ski ball?"

When Veronica giggled he knew he was already sunk. Not only was that by far one of the cutest things he had ever heard - despite knowing she was giggling _Iat/I_ him - but it was obvious she had no intentions to take it easy on him.

Sure enough not ten minutes later she had a pile of tickets pouring down to her feet as she continued to sink those balls into the left 100 ring every time.

"Guess that's what I get for not being able to come here every weekend," Don sighed finally, figuring she beat him so embarrassingly because at her age there was little more for her to do then spend her weekends at the arcade.

Veronica only laughed. "I haven't been to an arcade in months."

"So about that last game you saw when we walked in?" he sighed. As 'the guy' and a more than slightly sexist one at that in cases such as these, he would have been happy to let her win more then a few times. But damn it, he had his wounded male pride and bruised ego to remedy given just how much she had won by. The folded line of tickets in that paper cup of hers told the tale.

"Bring it on, Deputy Don."

After the first few shots he had nailed on the game he was feeling better and then he caught her glancing over to him, a smile on those pink lips every time. Just like that his concentration was as shot as the assassins on their game screen.

Keith had ordered this so Veronica would get over the crush she had on him. But what about him? Sixteen equaled hands off, he was mostly okay with that, but this was just reminding him exactly why he had every intention of spending her eighteenth birthday with her. All day, preferably in one of their beds… Or his sofa, or car… He really wasn't picky in his fantasies so long as it was Veronica's legal-aged, naked body against his.

"Rematch?" she smiled when their game ended, somehow the scores revealing Lamb had won.

"I'm taking that for Veronica-speak for we're playing until you win." He guessed the game had been better in helping him take out his aggressions than he had thought. Or just maybe he'd had the ability to distract her for a change. The idea was almost enough to make him smile.

"Well fine then, air hockey?" she asked when she saw a table was free.

It was a standard and he remembered being good at it, with that he nodded his approval.

"I so rule," Veronica sighed with a little dance when the score was six to five. She was leading of course and her favorite deputy seemed to be getting used to it.

When she had officially won, Don was about ready to up the stakes a little. He knew there was at least one game he could beat her at and definitely show off with. Okay, two, but the basketball games wouldn't have been fair given he was a foot taller than her.

"Pac-Man? Really, Lamb? This soon?" she almost laughed. She might have gone easier on him and let him win but she couldn't let him stay too sure of himself. She had to keep him guessing, boring was not something she would let him be able to describe her as.

Sure enough she didn't stand a chance against the apparent master and right then she had a clear idea how the young Don Lamb had spent his 80's. And she would have been lying if she claimed she was anything but impressed to see that his initials really were on the high score board.

"So," Don grinned widely, showing nearly all of his oh so white teeth, "what now?"

"Food. Food is good. And what's healthier then what you find on a boardwalk?"

He laughed as they headed for the exit. "Yeah, popcorn, funnel cakes, chilidogs; all very, very healthy."

"Mmm chilidogs. Now that sounds good. With a great, big chocolate shake."

"You're not going to declare we find a roller coaster after you eat all that, are you?"

"Neptune, not Santa Cruz, you're good," she told him as she tried not to laugh.

"Okay then. Whatever you want. So long as it doesn't reappear on me or in my car."

Veronica agreed with that grin she couldn't seem to get rid of and then waited for him to get back with his own food after he had gotten hers and had her grab them a table.

He had been seated for all of three seconds before she swiped one of his onion rings. Revenge was most definitely in order for that, he knew, so without a word he snatched one of her still scorching hot cheese fries.

"Hey!" she protested.

"What? I thought we were sharing," he stated as innocently as he could manage.

"I'm a growing girl."

"You could've gotten onion rings of your own."

"Well, since you said we're sharing…"

Arguing, debating, keeping his food from her, it was all futile. He knew it. He was powerless against this girl and all she had to do was smile at him.

Within the next three hours they had officially taken in nearly every game the arcade had to offer and Veronica had been declared the overall winner of the day. She had even rewarded herself with an oversized teddy bear with her tickets and Lamb and she had included a stop by the arcade's photo booth. A set of pictures for each of them.

"I didn't wear you out too badly, did I, Deputy?" she grinned when he pulled into her driveway.

"I was ready to go on over to mini-golf when we left the arcade. You're the one who insisted we wait until tomorrow."

"Ah," she scoffed with her best mock indignation. "Well we've got to save something for tomorrow."

"Hiking, swimming, throwing the Frisbee around the park - I'm open to suggestions. There's plenty more we could do. Unless your dad decides we've already spent too much time together." Admittedly he hated the thought, but he knew Keith and he knew Veronica still had that same look in her eyes that she'd had all day.

"Not even six hours, I'm not worried. But at least I got a fuzzy new toy," she smiled as she hugged her bear.

It took all Lamb had not to laugh at that. If she were legal she would have two after today. "How about you go on in before he accuses me of keeping you out past your bedtime?"

"My bedtime isn't until I decide, for your information. But fine. I'll go. Once I get a hug."

Without a word he maneuvered out of the shoulder strap of his seatbelt so he could turn towards her as much as possible and smiled as she leaned into him. He could sense he was about to be a dead man, especially if Keith was watching from the window, but decided he would make the most of it while he could. And if that meant keeping Veronica happy by giving her a twenty second hug then so be it.

"So, same time tomorrow?" he asked when she released her hold.

"Definitely. And who knows, tomorrow I just might be nice and let you win," she replied as she moved to climb out of his car.

"Tell Keith I said hi," he smiled as he fixed his seatbelt.

"Will do!"

Lamb waited until she was inside before pulling away. To say he feared seeing Keith after this would be an understatement but at least they had both kept their respective distances and had witnesses who would attest to that.

"I'm back!" Veronica called out when she walked through the living room, having to look around her prize to make sure she didn't fall.

"How was it?" Keith asked from the kitchen.

"I'm am still the reigning ski ball champion," she grinned as she set the oversized bear on the sofa. "But I might have some real air hockey competition, might have to fix that. Oh, and your deputy is a Pac-Man shark."

Keith laughed. "Does this mean you'll be spending tomorrow with Deputy Lamb as well?"

"He said we're still on for mini-golf, so yeah."

"And was that what he won for you?" he asked, indicating to the toy.

"I won it for myself," she answered proudly as she scooped it back up into her arms.

Keith let out a breath he did didn't realize he had been holding, thankful. "Are ya hungry?"

She thought about it. It had been a few hours since the junk food she had filled up on. "Yeah."


	3. Minigolf and a Choice

Title: The Bachelor and the Sheriff's Daughter (3/11)  
Rating: PG-13 (for language and innuendo)  
Summary: Keith requests that Lamb spend time with 16-year-old Veronica to curb her crush on the deputy. Only Keith hadn't imagined his plan backfiring.  
Spoilers: None for this chapter  
Pairing/Characters: Eventual V/Lamb, Keith, Lilly, Sacks, mentions Lianne, Aaron, canon Lilly/Logan and canon Dick/Madison  
Word Count: 1508 (this chapter)  
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: Yes, this was inspired by "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" but it holds no spoilers for the film and you don't need to see it in order to understand this. 

* * *

Chapter 3:

"Veronica, have you considered inviting Lilly or Duncan or the Echolls boy on your outings with Deputy Lamb?" Keith asked over breakfast the next morning.

"Well, I would, but come the weekends Lilly and Logan are usually too wrapped up in each other to think about the likes of movies or bowling and Duncan has soccer." _And a mother with a giant stick up her ass._

Keith attempted to repress a sigh. This apparently wasn't going to the way he had hoped. In his mind by now Veronica should have already been wanting to return to spending her weekends with her same-age friends. What in the world could Veronica have in common with his twenty-six-year-old deputy? Then again said deputy was a bit immature for his age and there were few who believed Veronica was as young as she was.

Deciding to voice that curiosity when Don arrived a few hours later while Veronica was still getting ready, he asked, "She hasn't been too rough on you, has she?"

Lamb just smiled. "Not at all. I admit, at first I wondered if this wouldn't feel like a glorified baby-sitting gig away from the office, but yesterday was actually fun."

"Uh huh. And your plans for today?"

"Mini-golf," they both heard a perky, young voice answer. "I should warn you though -"

"You know what? I think this is gonna be fun. Trying to figure out just which games a sixteen-year-old girl won't beat me at," he grinned to her and then to Keith.

"Aww, I'll try to go easy on you, Deputy," she replied with a patronizing pat on his shoulder.

Don realized by the fourth hole that this clearly wasn't going to go as easily as he had hoped. Veronica didn't have poor form when it came to her miniature golf game, but he wasn't having an easy time ignoring his urge to still walk up behind her give a few extra pointers. Not that she needed the help kicking his butt on the Astroturf but at least getting his arms around her would make up for it. He was only thankful he had her age - and the several witnesses - to keep him in check.

"You're up, Lamb," she grinned after landing her next put.

With a shake of his head, Don could only be thankful she had shaken him from his reverie while her statement still pertained to only his turn.

Speaking of turns, Veronica happily took hers when it came to observing him as he bent over just enough to line up his shot. The way his jeans clung in all the right places and his all too loose fitting blue t-shirt that still revealed his well defined arms and well-muscled biceps. In all honesty, she knew she could stare at him for days on end and still be entranced.

"So did we ever decide what the winner would get today?" he asked after he sunk his next hole in one.

Veronica blinked to focus her eyes anywhere but on his denim-clad butt. "Uh, no. I don't think so."

He nodded. "Okay then. Loser buys the winner their dessert of choice?"

"Too late. We already started the game. The winner just has to be satisfied with having won," she grinned up at him.

"Anyone ever tell you you're a sore loser?"

She laughed. "I haven't lost yet, Donnie."

Sure enough an hour later Veronica was proven to be the winner once again, even if only by a few points. Lamb had no idea how she did it, but he had an idea he had his distraction with her to blame. Those shorts with that all too well fitting tank top? He should have known he wouldn't stand a chance at keeping his mind on the game.

"So was that the winner buys dessert we decided on? I mean, since you implied it was too late to decide that the loser would be and all?" he grinned back to her.

"Who's the sore loser now?" she asked as they walked down to return their clubs and golf balls.

"I bought us lunch yesterday and you ate half of mine. It's only fair."

"Fine," she replied with a dramatic sigh for his benefit. Really she couldn't complain too much, at least she was getting to know what he liked and it was a way to partially soothe that fragile male ego of his.

"Veronica?" Lilly asked when she saw her friend at the funnel cake booth.

"Lilly?" she asked, shielding her eyes from the late afternoon sun.

"Hey! I thought that was you," she told her as she jogged over. "What's up? Logan and I were thinking about getting a boat for the day, neither of us wanting to take Mom and Dad's. You wanna come with?"

"Wow. Yeah, that sounds like fun. Uh, just let me ask Lamb."

"Lamb?" Lilly knew Veronica had a crush on the deputy but either her friend had reached a whole new level of delusion in believing he was there or she had failed to mention something major.

"Yeah, we just got done playing mini-golf. I won and yet somehow I'm still the one buying us lunch," she shrugged.

Lilly glanced over to see the very casually dressed deputy watching them from the table he had gotten. Wow. Something major, it was.

"No offence, Veronica, but I don't really want to be seen with a member of Balboa County law enforcement and I doubt Logan would enjoy it either."

Veronica tilted her head slightly. "You didn't mind when my dad was taking us to the movies for the years before we could drive."

Lilly sighed. "Your dad's one thing. He's your dad. But people tend to avoid us even when he's around most of the time. And given the adolescent decadence Logan and I are hoping to get up to, especially when Dick and Madison get here, a deputy is kind of one of the last people we'd want with us on the boat. Just tell him you're sick or something if you don't want to hurt his feelings. But either way, if you want to come with us it's pretty much for ages sixteen and seventeen only."

Veronica glanced back to Lamb. Him versus her friends? Friendship versus friendship with a side of hormones? True, he had been asked to spend time with her but he hadn't complained. In fact he had actually seemed to be enjoying his time with her. And she had most definitely been enjoying spending time with him.

"It's okay, I'd just feel like a fifth wheel anyway with you and Logan and Dick and Madison. Have fun," she told her with a smile.

"Okay, your loss," Lilly shrugged before walking off to rejoin Logan.

"Everything okay?" Lamb asked when Veronica returned, presenting him with a hot, overly powdered funnel cake for them.

"Yeah, just ran into Lilly," she smiled as she took the seat across from him.

He nodded. "It's okay, you know. If you want to go hang out with your friends instead of me." It was Keith's plan anyway, this was what he was supposed to be getting her interested in, not keeping her interested in him.

Veronica shook her head. "It's not like they invited me originally and even if they had you asked first."

He almost chuckled. "You don't have to stay with me out of obligation."

"I'm not," she answered with a soft smile as her eyes locked onto his.

"Okay then," he smiled back before turning his attention to their dessert. Veronica had just chosen him over her friends. It was official, he was a dead man. Oh well, at least he would have a sugary last meal.

"So do we have any other plans for today or was this our main event?"

"Main event, yes. But as for something else… Well, what would you want to do?"

"We could rent a boat of our own for the day," she grinned.

Lamb actually thought about it for a minute. If they could rent some fishing poles he could show off a bit and eat pretty well for the next couple of nights. It was actually a little more tempting then it should have been.

"Tell you what, we can do that in two weeks," he nodded. "It'll be cheaper to not have to rent the poles and stuff. We can go out and after we take in some scenery we can get some fish and if you're nice to me I might even grill some for ya."

Boating, fishing and having dinner with Deputy Don Lamb? She wasn't going to say no. "Why not next weekend."

"Because I already decided we're going hiking on Saturday and bowling on Sunday."

"Okay, well then what does that leave for the rest of today?"

Lamb glanced ahead to the arcade. His wallet wasn't hurting too badly from the day before and he couldn't deny that he wanted a rematch. So what if he was a sore loser? She started it.


	4. Surprise Dinner Delivery

Title: The Bachelor and the Sheriff's Daughter (4/11)  
Rating: PG-13 (for language and innuendo)  
Summary: Keith requests that Lamb spend time with 16-year-old Veronica to curb her crush on the deputy. Only Keith hadn't imagined his plan backfiring.  
Spoilers: None for this chapter  
Pairing/Characters: Eventual V/Lamb, Keith, Lilly, Sacks, mentions Lianne, Aaron, canon Lilly/Logan and canon Dick/Madison  
Word Count: 1654 (this chapter)  
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: Yes, this was inspired by "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" but it holds no spoilers for the film and you don't need to see it in order to understand this. 

* * *

Chapter 4:

Veronica had done well, she thought. She had spent nearly her entire weekend with her favorite deputy and had lasted all of three days and two nights before deciding she would go to the station to see him.

Come Wednesday night, well, she knew she couldn't wait until the weekend to see him again. If nothing else she at least wanted him to see she wasn't so much of a sore loser that she was bothered by him having won the rematch at the arcade. Plus she had gotten a cute plush puppy from him out of the deal. All in all, it had been a good Sunday.

When Veronica walked into the sheriff's department she made sure to have her best nonchalant smile upon her pink-painted lips. After all she wasn't there for any real reason in particular, she was just bringing her father dinner like she often did.

It wasn't like she had brought an extra sandwich for anyone else. Certainly not someone who wasn't at his desk for some reason. That didn't make sense, it was only a little after seven, that person she wasn't there to see was supposed to still be there.

_Damn, must be on a call. Oh well._

Still, Veronica headed for her father's office. No reason to let the good food go to waste.

"Who's hungry?" she asked with a bright smile as she held up the bag.

"Veronica," he smiled as he watched her walk in. Just like that his day had vastly improved. "Tell me that's pastrami I smell."

"Only the best for the local sheriff," she nodded as she handed it over.

As he sat he didn't miss that Veronica had her left hand mostly behind her, a blue bag identical to that in front of him peeking out from behind her thigh. He would have laughed if he planned to mention it. He knew he should have anticipated that it would only be a matter of time before she started bringing dinner for his deputy too.

"Have a seat. How was your day?"

She shrugged, careful to drop her purse along with the bag before moving to the chair. "School was very school-like, nothing really to report. So how about you? Any exciting cases come in?"

"Just the usual," he half-smiled in place of telling her exactly which deputies were taking care of a fender-bender on the PCH.

After another ten minutes of trying to pass the time while she waited she decided that the other sandwich had to be getting cold and that she should go before it became even more obvious why she was really there.

"I'll see you at home, Sweetheart," Keith smiled as he watched her pick up her things before she headed out of his office.

"Don't work too hard," she smiled back. Her smile grew wider when she turned to see that the previously lonely desk was occupied once more by its current assigned owner. It made her thankful that she remembered the blinds to her father's office had been closed, with any luck he wouldn't see what she was about to do.

"Thought you might be hungry," she stated as she placed the bag at the corner of his desk from behind him.

Don didn't have to turn around to know it was her. There was only one girl he knew who would bring him dinner. Fortunately it smelled too good for him to remember that a week ago this would have had him fearing for his more prized body parts.

"You thought right," he answered as he turned his head to the side to get a glimpse of her.

"Long day?" she asked before resting her hands at his shoulders.

"The usual."

"So, then, yes," she replied before beginning to knead her slender fingers into the tense muscles at either side of his neck.

Lamb sighed out, his eyes closing involuntarily. Damn, that felt good. And quickly he remembered why it shouldn't. "You're gonna get me in trouble."

"How do you figure? I'm allowed to be here. Being the sheriff's daughter has fun perks like that."

"I'm supposed to be working, getting this incident report filed."

"Since when do you work?" she smirked. She had been there long enough, had spent enough time watching him to know he didn't do more than he absolutely had to.

Lamb scoffed in mock indignation and reached around to pinch her thigh.

"Hey!" she squeaked as she jerked out of his grasp, completely unaware of the stares they were getting from Sacks and the other deputies.

With that he reached up to his neck and got hold of one of her hands. "Come here."

Reluctantly, unsure she could trust him right then, she walked around to face him.

"Thank you for my dinner. But I do have to get this in and trust me, if your dad sees us acting like a couple of kids out here when I'm supposed to be working, he won't be happy. And you know how he might punish the both of us."

Glancing to her father's office, she knew Lamb was right. "Okay. Fine. I'll play nice."

"Oh, don't pout. I'll see you Saturday, okay?"

Veronica nodded. She liked her way better, but she didn't want to run the risk of her father banning her from the station when Lamb was there by continuing to bring him dinner too or distracting him - which admittedly she couldn't help but enjoy knowing she had the ability to do.

"Okay then. I'll pick you up at five, you just be in your hiking best."

"Do I have to get one of those big backpack things?"

He laughed. "No. But I definitely do not want to see those black leather boots either."

"I know what to wear when I go hiking, thank you very much."

"Then you can prove it Saturday," he smirked.

And prove it Saturday, Veronica had every intention of doing. She had braided her long blonde locks and was dressed in a pair of white denim shorts, a plain yet not too loose-fitting green short-sleeved top and tan hiking boots. Not her best in her 'impress-the-deputy' collection, she decided as she surveyed her appearance in her mirror, but for today it would do.

So lost in her thoughts she didn't hear when the knock on the door came, but Keith did and he was a little thankful Veronica wasn't in the room. He had a few questions for his deputy and knew he would have the best chance of answers if he had the younger man alone.

"Hey, Keith," Lamb smiled. "Is Veronica ready?"

"Almost," he nodded. "Come in. Actually, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," Keith stated, a soft sigh soon following.

He took a few steps into the living room, unsure what to expect. "Okay. What is it?"

"These weekends with Veronica, how is your girlfriend taking it? I mean, have you told her about them?"

Lamb tried not to laugh, but he couldn't stop his smile. "It's pretty easy actually since I don't have one. How about Lianne? Has she been okay with it?"

"She's, out of town, for a while. But, is there a reason there's not a girl in the picture? A young guy like you, I would've thought…" he went on, this time nervous his deputy maybe did in fact have an interest in Veronica after all.

Lamb, however, took it another way entirely and had to stifle another laugh before he answered. "Most of the women I've dated over the last couple months couldn't take the cop hours, accused me of you name it when I really was working late or working overtime. I figure now I'm better off with a girl who can grasp the concept that just because I might not walk into my apartment before 3A.M. doesn't mean I'm somewhere I shouldn't be. In the meantime, whatever, I'm not really in a rush."

"Whatever?" Is that what he thought of his daughter? Keith couldn't keep his emotions straight at that point. He didn't want Don to have feelings for Veronica beyond their platonic (dear God, it had better be platonic) friendship, but he hated the thought that he was just using his time with her to curb his own boredom and or would drop these weekends the second something he deemed better in his age group came along.

Lamb sighed that time. He really dreaded admitting this, knowing how bad it sounded in his own head, but he bit the bullet. "Honestly, Keith, I had more fun with Veronica last weekend then I've had with most women my age since I came to Neptune." Alright, that 'most' was a lie, but he had no doubt Keith would shoot him then and there if he admitted the truth.

That stunned Keith into near silence. How he wasn't putting an end to this already he didn't know. His shock had to have something to do with it. Or the fact that part of him knew that Veronica would see him as the villain and it would only increase her romanticized image of the deputy.

"Do you know how many women around here scoff at the idea of spending a day at the arcade? Or bowling? I like dinner and a movie as much as the next guy, but I'm not going to forget the other things that until you came up with this idea I had to do only by myself or with my friends."

"I'll, uh, go see if Veronica's ready," Keith nodded.

Lamb had an idea he had said too much, but it was too late now. At least he hadn't been shot, he figured.

"Veronica?" Keith asked as he knocked on her bedroom door.

"Is Lamb here?" she asked in reply.

"Yeah he is, right on time."

Veronica grinned as she looked to her reflection one last time.


	5. Sunset Hike

Title: The Bachelor and the Sheriff's Daughter (5/11)  
Rating: PG-13 (for language and innuendo)  
Summary: Keith requests that Lamb spend time with 16-year-old Veronica to curb her crush on the deputy. Only Keith hadn't imagined his plan backfiring.  
Spoilers: None for this chapter  
Pairing/Characters: Eventual V/Lamb, Keith, Lilly, Sacks, mentions Lianne, Aaron, canon Lilly/Logan and canon Dick/Madison  
Word Count: 1971 (this chapter)  
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: Yes, this was inspired by "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" but it holds no spoilers for the film and you don't need to see it in order to understand this. 

* * *

Chapter 5:

"It's beautiful up here," Veronica commented when they reached the top of the hill.

"Yeah, this is one of my favorite places to come," he told her as he looked out, both of them seeing the street lights beginning to flicker to life as the sun was beginning to set.

"So is this why it had to be so late in the afternoon?" she asked as she took a seat on a large rock. "To see half the town under the pink sky and all?"

"Nah, I'd just wanted to see the first quarter of the Laker game," he shrugged as he took a seat beside her.

Veronica looked over at him, unsure if he was kidding. She wanted to slap his arm when she saw him smirk to her.

"You tell me, could words do this view justice?"

They couldn't even begin to in Veronica's mind. For that she wished she had brought her camera. And not just for the t-shirt and khaki shorts-clad deputy she was still getting used to seeing out of his stodgy uniform.

"So I was thinkin' -"

"Uh oh," she cut in with a grin.

Lamb scoffed. "Well fine, just for that I'm not gonna tell you."

"Oh, come on, Deputy, you know I have to give you a hard time," she told him with a slight nudge of her shoulder into his.

He shook his head, she gave him more than enough as it was. "Tomorrow, I was thinking we could go bowling."

"Will there be nachos involved?" she inquired with a quirked brow.

His own weakness, she just kept getting better. "Absolutely," he answered with a single nod.

"Then you've got yourself a bowling date," she grinned, not caring just how that sounded. Maybe they weren't officially dating but it wasn't like Veronica wouldn't throw anyone else over for her favorite deputy should he ask.

"I've got to say, I'm really glad Keith's let us hang out like this."

"You don't always have to sound so surprised that you like hanging out with me, you know."

He chuckled. "I know. It's just, I'm not used to enjoying the company of sixteen-year-olds."

"I'm not going to be sixteen forever," she smirked.

Lamb took that moment to mentally thank the god he was sure had to exist for that to be true. "You know what I mean," he finally replied with his signature smirk.

"Yes I do. And I think I'm offended, Deputy."

"Offended?" He blinked. What? How?

"That's profiling. Thinking you couldn't enjoy your time with me based on my age or lack thereof."

"Well just think if I'd thought I'd enjoy the company of those your age before now you might not be the one I'd be here with now," he shot back.

"Well you are, so HA! to them."

"Exactly," he smirked back to her.

"Exactly," he smirked back to her.

"So are you on any deputy, lawmen, sheriff's department bowling leagues I should know about?" she asked, needing a change of subject.

"Haven't been for a while."

"But I'd be right in thinking you've got your own bowling ball and shoes?"

He laughed. "Yes."

She scoffed. "Is there any sport you don't play?"

He thought about it. "Maybe tennis, and hockey."

"And in between all of your others you still find time to be a Pac-Man shark." She couldn't believe it. Was there anything the man couldn't do? Okay, he couldn't beat her at ski ball, she had one victory between them at least. And if she was really desperate she was sure she could beat him at a game of Limbo. And maybe Twister.

He shrugged. "It's a gift."

They only had to wait a few minutes more before they could watch as the sun began to set. Both had wanted to stay to watch the blinding orange ball of light descend completely in the sea of blues and pinks of the sky, but knew it would be better to head down the hill while they still had some light.

"Oh my god!" Veronica gasped almost as soon as she stood, all but leaping into the arms of the surprised deputy as she tried to keep herself steady.

"What?" he asked as he caught her.

"Snake," she whispered as it slithered closer to her shoe.

Once seeing it and quickly being able to assess it wasn't poisonous, Don took the moment to realize no sixteen-year-old should be allowed to smell as good as Veronica did - especially not when she still smelled this good after a hike despite it being a pretty cool evening.

"It's okay, Veronica, it won't hurt you," he finally told her. "Just let it go, you'll be fine."

Veronica didn't move again until the snake had slithered off out of sight, only then even moving to take her arms down from around Don's waist.

"Are you okay?" he asked, trying to get her to look at him.

"Yeah," she nodded, sure she was only half-lying. "I just hate snakes."

"Okay, come on. Let's get you home then."

"At least I didn't scream?" she asked, hoping for just a little more reassurance when they got to his car.

"You did great," he nodded with a smile as he shifted into gear. "But don't worry, I'm sure there won't be any snakes at the bowling alley."

"Just sharks, I'm sure," she smirked.

"You talkin' about you or me?" he winked with a laugh.

"Guess we'll find out," she winked back.

"Just to be sure, we've still got next weekend figured out, right?" he asked on the drive back to her house.

"You promised me boating."

"I didn't technically promise, but yes, boating. And after that maybe a movie?"

"Works for me," she grinned.

This time when they pulled into her driveway he turned the car off and caught Veronica's quizzical stare.

"Walking me to my door, Lamb?" she smiled, curious what the occasion would be.

"Figure I may as well get your dad's okay on our plans for next weekend now before I call ahead to rent the boat."

Veronica nodded as she climbed out. Made sense.

"Oh, Don, hi," Keith smiled when saw Veronica leading him into the house.

"Hey," he half-smiled.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, the good deputy just wanted to ask you something," Veronica chirped before heading to the kitchen.

"Oh?" he asked as he looked to Lamb.

"Yeah, um, I wanted to make sure you'd be okay with Veronica's and my idea for something we want to do next weekend."

"You're not taking my daughter to Vegas," Keith cracked. Only the serious expression on Lamb's face made him worry. If he didn't think he was kidding then there really could be a problem here, a much bigger one then he had feared.

Lamb shook his head. "No, she wants to go out on the water next weekend, rent a boat for a few hours, maybe even fish a little."

Heart attack quickly averted, Keith was thankful. "That sounds great actually. Yeah, Veronica loves it out there. Tell ya what, if you promise to share some of the wealth if you hook a big one next weekend then you can stay for dinner tonight with Veronica and me."

"What's on the menu?"

It ended up being manicotti and Veronica couldn't seem to have been happier that he had stayed even through the meal and the ice cream that ended up being for dessert that had followed.

For Keith it had been more of his curiosity getting the better of him than anything. Though truthfully Lamb was quite the fisherman if the photos he had seen were any indication. Still, he had wanted to see how his deputy interacted with his daughter and vice versa.

He still wasn't sure exactly which one of them he didn't entirely trust. While they had both been keeping a respectable distance from one another, he could tell Veronica still wouldn't have minded if Lamb had moved closer at any point and Lamb hadn't really seemed to be bothered by Veronica's occasional closeness to him.

However Keith did feel a sense of relief at the fact that while they did seem to have their own private jokes they seemed to be clean and neither of them seemed to be put off at the fact he had been sitting across from them the whole time.

Keith was just about to thank his lucky stars that he couldn't remember seeing the two even really touch save for a few knee bumps when Don announced that he should be getting home and that he would see Veronica the next day.

Sure enough Veronica was on her feet in a second and Keith could only watch as she walked the deputy to the door.

"Think we could stay late enough for the night bowling, neon thing they have?" she asked when they made it to the door.

Lamb glanced to Keith. When he saw his mentor nod his approval, he answered, "Sure. I actually can't remember the last time I played under the blacklights."

"Oooh, a challenge," she grinned.

"Uh oh," he almost laughed.

"Okay, okay, come here," she told him as she raised up on her tiptoes and draped her arms over his shoulders.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he replied as he bent to hug her goodnight. When he straightened, he looked to Keith again and said, "Thanks again for dinner, Keith. I should be here around five tomorrow."

"Have a good night, Don," he nodded to him with a wave.

"Night," Veronica told him, a little more sadly than she had anticipated.

Don couldn't deny the sudden uneasy feeling he felt as he stepped out onto the patio and heard Veronica close the door after him. He was only enjoying his time with Veronica more and now nearly his every thought of the girl was being prefaced with _in two years_ or _if she was eighteen._ The most dangerous of all however was making its presence known once again as he climbed back into his car. _When she's eighteen…_

For a moment he let his head fall back to the headrest of his seat, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Keith would kill him, at the very least shoot him somewhere important, if he knew. Still, he had agreed to this and he knew he had to keep going along with it. He knew he wouldn't just hurt Veronica if he quit now, but he knew Keith would know exactly what the real reason was. He was twenty-six-years-old and he was lusting after his boss' sixteen-year-old daughter. Yeah, he knew he could forget about going to hell. He was clearly already there.

"Dinner went better than I thought it might," Keith stated as he watched Veronica come back into the living room.

"Yeah, it was fun," she agreed with a smile. "Maybe we could make it a weekly thing? It's not like Deputy Lamb has a family here to have weekend dinners with."

"We'll see. I don't want him to think we're going to take up all of his free time. Or that this is going to get him a raise."

She laughed. "Would you talk to him about it if I manage to find out tomorrow if he'd be interested?"

"We'll see," he repeated. It was all he could tell her. He was getting worried again. Overhearing their conversations over dinner and dessert had been a bit of a help, he knew now some of the things they had in common - music, movies, similar competitive streaks and stubbornness. But at the same time he still couldn't understand it and he didn't entirely like it. While he was relieved Lamb wasn't begrudging his task, he didn't like that the younger man seemed to be embracing it or enjoying it this much.


	6. Reflection

Title: The Bachelor and the Sheriff's Daughter (6/11)  
Rating: PG-13 (for language and innuendo)  
Summary: Keith requests that Lamb spend time with 16-year-old Veronica to curb her crush on the deputy. Only Keith hadn't imagined his plan backfiring.  
Spoilers: None for this chapter  
Pairing/Characters: Eventual V/Lamb, Keith, Lilly, Sacks, mentions Lianne, Aaron, canon Lilly/Logan and canon Dick/Madison  
Word Count: 1151 (this chapter)  
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: Yes, this was inspired by "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" but it holds no spoilers for the film and you don't need to see it in order to understand this. 

* * *

Chapter 6:

When the others had gone on their dinner run, leaving Lamb behind to answer the phones, he found himself once again thinking back to his day of bowling with Veronica.

It had gone well, nothing too out of the ordinary or objectionable or left him fearing for his life. Just the two of them enjoying their buddy time, hanging out, having fun, friendly wagers here and there that were paid in soda or nachos.

And then when he had won the game Veronica had asked him to give her some pointers. Don knew he should have known that would spell trouble, but once she had given him that pleading pout he was powerless against and was promised more nachos he had gotten up and decided to help her out even if he wasn't sure he wanted to help her beat him at yet another game.

What he hadn't counted on was that action had led to him being no more than an inch behind her, Veronica moving back to him and his hand moving down along her bare arm to help improve her form. At first he had thought nothing of it, not until she turned her head just enough to look at him at just right angle and caught his stare.

Once again the only thing that kept him in check was her age and the certainty that it would be his balls if Keith ever even got an idea of that image. When the blacklights came on for the Bowl-O-Rama's Night Bowling he felt he had been granted his first real reprieve. After that Veronica was back to being focused on the game and winning, and he really couldn't claim to mind.

Three days had passed since then and he still couldn't get it out of his head. He still couldn't go to Keith about it, or really anyone else for fear they would go to Keith, which meant he was still stuck. Still stuck reliving how her tiny body had felt against him and that all too familiar, far too good vanilla-almond scent of her for even those few minutes and he was stuck with the ideas of Keith's furious reaction.

When he had dropped Veronica off that night he had been relieved to hear her mention the boating trip for the next weekend again. At least with boating he would be at the wheel and then there would hopefully be fishing. Neither of which were likely to result in what happened those nights ago. The girl could fish, no way was she conning him into that move again.

Lamb was shaken from his reverie when he heard the desk bell ding. It was the first time in recent memory he hadn't wanted to chuck that thing against the nearest wall.

And then he saw who was trying to get his attention. Standing up at the reception desk and smiling while holding a pizza box.

"Hungry?" Veronica asked with a smile.

He only waved her back to his desk as he wondered just when he had changed his stance on being too pretty and too young to die.

"To what do I owe the visit?" he asked as she dragged a chair over and sat down beside him.

"Figured you'd want something better then chocolate for dinner," she answered as she grabbed the first slice.

He almost smirked. "How did you know it was my night to stay behind to answer the phones?"

"It's usually your night to answer the phones," she shrugged. "Sure you're not entirely a rookie anymore but I think you're still the most recent hire."

"So I can expect special dinners every night now?" he asked as he took a slice for himself.

"Dad would probably get jealous if I did that."

"Well I bet you're already making Sacks and the others jealous. Second time bringing me dinner? People might start talking," he smirked, unable to help the joy he was finding in this even still.

"Tell them to tell Dad to have them baby-sit me on the weekends and then we'll talk."

"I'm not your baby-sitter."

"I know, but it probably sounds better then us being friends and all."

It was true. Keith had said it himself, that even he would have arrested him for this had it not been his idea.

"So, about our boating trip, I've already got us a fifteen-footer reserved and I'm bringing what we'll need for fishing since I'm not letting them take even more of my money."

"Didn't you mention something about grilling some of that fish for me?" she asked before taking another bite of her pizza.

"Depends on how nice you are to me," he smirked.

"I am very nice to you. Witness Exhibit A," she said as she pointed to the pizza.

"Okay, yes, you are," he sighed as he looked back to that pizza box. "How do you plan to tell your daddy that you came all the way out here just to have dinner with me tonight?"

With her best mask of pure innocence, she answered, "Oh, well, I brought the pizza for him, but traffic was a bitch so by the time I got here he'd already left with the others. And then I saw you by your lonesome and I couldn't in good conscience just leave you to starve while that pizza sat alone on his desk where it was sure to get cold and soggy."

Once again those pesky I_if she was eighteen_/I thoughts came back to the deputy. He could already see it in his mind, pulling her chair closer to his, devouring that pink mouth of hers, happily savoring the taste of the cheese and pepperoni on her tongue.

"So there you go, the reason Dad can't be jealous," she went on, still oblivious to Don's inner chaos.

"Jealous of what, Sweetheart?" they both heard a very familiar voice ask.

"Of someone else getting the dinner I got here too late to give you," Veronica answered quickly.

Keith glanced to Lamb and gave him a small, knowing smile even as the younger man seemed to be looking anywhere but at him or Veronica. "No pastrami sandwiches tonight?"

That time Veronica blushed. "Thought you might want something different this time."

Keith nodded. "Well as much as I hate to interrupt your dinner -"

Veronica nodded as she stood and gave Sacks back his chair. "I know, I know, duty calls. Enjoy the pizza. I'll see you at home," she told her father before giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Then she turned back to her favorite deputy. "And I guess I'll see you Saturday."

"Thanks for tryin' to keep me company tonight," Lamb nodded.

Veronica only smiled and held his gaze for as long as she could as she headed out, completely unaware of the curious stares from the other deputies and her father's own amusement.


	7. Perfect Day to go Boating

Title: The Bachelor and the Sheriff's Daughter (7/11)  
Rating: PG-13 (for language and innuendo)  
Summary: Keith requests that Lamb spend time with 16-year-old Veronica to curb her crush on the deputy. Only Keith hadn't imagined his plan backfiring.  
Spoilers: None for this chapter  
Pairing/Characters: Eventual V/Lamb, Keith, Lilly, Sacks, mentions Lianne, Aaron, canon Lilly/Logan and canon Dick/Madison  
Word Count: 1349 (this chapter)  
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: Yes, this was inspired by "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" but it holds no spoilers for the film and you don't need to see it in order to understand this. 

* * *

Chapter 7:

"Perfect day to go boating," Veronica mused from her seat. She had been sure to dress for the occasion in a way that would have the deputy taking notice one way or another. A thin, white, off the shoulder top to reveal the tied blue halter bikini top she had beneath and a pair of equally revealing white shorts with her matching bikini bottoms beneath just in case she managed to talk him into swimming. She had smiled when she realized he seemed to be thinking the same thing in his t-shirt and Bermuda swim shorts.

"That it is," he agreed as he looked ahead. Not a cloud in the vast, blue sky, the crystal clear water below and the weather was positively temperate.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why aren't we fishing from one of the piers?"

"I'd answer that, but I don't want to anger the pixie."

She sighed. The rails were high, she was short. He just had to go there. "So I keep hearing these rumors about what a good fisherman you are."

"Oh?" he smirked, decidedly ready for her commentary.

"Yeah. But how much fishing can one get done in the desert that is Texas?"

He laughed. "Texas has their fair share of lakes, you know. You'd be amazed at the size of bass we get. But, I have also been known to take trips to Cabo every now and then."

"Cabo? Seriously?"

"Yeah, actually," he went on as he reached for his cell in one of his pockets, "I might still have a few photos on my phone from the last time my buddies and I went down there."

"Well maybe if I'm lucky you can take me some time," Veronica answered with a hint of challenge in her voice.

"Taking a minor across the border? Yeah, I think we're gonna wait on that one until your dad can't shoot me for it," he told her even as he flipped through a few more photos on his phone until he found the ones he was looking for.

"My dad wouldn't hurt a fly."

"He trusts me to take you to the arcade and to the movies and even out here on the water. I doubt he'd trust you alone with me in Mexico," he smirked back to her. "Here, check 'em out."

Veronica huffed as she took his phone from his outstretched hand and looked. "Who are the guys with you here?"

"The short one's my buddy Chris, the skinny one's Owen and the other one's Evan."

They looked to be on a boat themselves and some pretty big fish were being held up by each of them in their respective pictures. Veronica had to be admit she was pretty impressed, apparently Lamb hadn't been exaggerating about the kind of fish he had caught in the past. And she liked that he seemed to feel comfortable enough handing his phone over to her - especially since he was letting her flip through his personal photos.

Unable to fight her growing curiosity, she went a little beyond the fishing pictures despite how much of a goof Chris seemed to be and how half-naked and tan Evan and Owen were. And Owen could give Lamb some competition in the 'most incredible eyes' department, she noted, but beyond that she wanted to see her own competition. Or at the very least see if she had any.

She wondered too if there might be photos of his family, or anything else she would consider to be of interest… Namely if he entertained any other teenage girls. So far nothing stood out, just images of him at a few sports bars and what looked to be some outdoor shooting range that she guessed Evan had taken since they seemed to be the only two in other shots from the same days. And then she had what she decided was a brilliant idea.

"So does this mean if we hook some decent-sized fish today or just end up wanting to remember this we could take some pics ourselves?"

"We could," he answered as he slowed the boat down when they reached a spot he was pretty sure wouldn't end up being too populated as the afternoon went on.

Veronica only grinned as she held his phone up and snapped a shot of her smiling self, even with her tan shades on she was sure he would be able to make out the wicked gleam in her eyes. He had given her permission, after all.

"I take it Chris, Owen and Evan are some of your Texas friends?" she asked as she got up from her seat when she felt the boat stop and watched as he walked over to grab one of the fishing poles.

Don smiled at her curiosity. "College buddies, yeah. But I'll warn ya, Evan's married. Not that it stops him from flirting with, well, anything but he's still married. And Owen might as well be. Chris just has a thing for bossy redheads."

"Story of my life, no one being interested in the bossy blonde," she sighed dreamily, waiting for his rebuttal.

Instead he only chuckled, knowing where she was headed and deciding to stay as far from that trap as he could.

Undeterred, she asked, "They're not going to be jealous that you're out fishing with me, are they?" as she took the other pole and joined him at the back of the boat.

"What they don't know won't hurt me," he winked over to her.

"Oh, but there's going to be photographic evidence, I'm afraid," she sighed with mock concern before lifting his phone again and snapping a shot of him, catching him in profile.

"You're implying I let them see what's on my phone."

"Oooh, what'd I miss?" she beamed before putting her fishing pole off to the side and turning her full attention back to the phone.

"Nothing," he told her with a more than slightly embarrassed grin before grabbing it from her. "But now I bet I'll get all kinds of questions if they see these."

"And that's a problem?" she asked with a quirked brow.

"Wouldn't be if you were legal," he admitted.

"Then tell them I'm your boss' kid, it's not like that's a lie."

"You just want to know that I'm gonna talk about you," he smirked, realizing just what she was really after.

"Well are you ashamed of me, Deputy?" she challenged.

"We wouldn't have set foot outside of your place or mine if I was. Instead every time we've hung out we've been in public, outside. So you tell me."

"Sounds like as long as we're in Neptune it's okay."

"In a way that's true. Your daddy hears I've taken you on a field trip beyond Neptune and you can kiss these weekends goodbye."

That was enough to almost make her pout.

"Besides, shouldn't you be embarrassed to be seen with me? My being so old and a deputy and all?"

Veronica thought back to Lilly's words, how she had said she didn't want to be seen with him for those reasons. "Should be, so I'm told, but I'm not."

"So you're told? Don't tell me you're using me to get away from your friends."

"There's nothing to get away from, they're the ones pretty much avoiding me. Lilly and Logan are off doing their own things, Duncan's busy with sports and doing what Mommy Dearest tells him and their friends aren't really mine. The likes of Madison and Dick? No thanks."

Lamb laughed in disbelief. Great. This was just great. Exactly what Keith had in mind. Oh yeah, he was screwed. "Okay, okay. I get it. I guess I'll just take the compliment of you not being ashamed to be seen with me."

"Good. Glad we got that settled," she grinned. And just then she felt a sharp tug on her line that kept her from musing over that for long. Finally she had a bite and she couldn't help her competitive streak returning when she realized how strong the fish seemed to be.


	8. No Looking Back

Title: The Bachelor and the Sheriff's Daughter (8/11)  
Rating: PG-13 (for language and innuendo)  
Summary: Keith requests that Lamb spend time with 16-year-old Veronica to curb her crush on the deputy. Only Keith hadn't imagined his plan backfiring.  
Spoilers: None for this chapter  
Pairing/Characters: Eventual V/Lamb, Keith, Lilly, Sacks, mentions Lianne, Aaron, canon Lilly/Logan and canon Dick/Madison  
Word Count: 1848 (this chapter)  
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: Yes, this was inspired by "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" but it holds no spoilers for the film and you don't need to see it in order to understand this. 

* * *

Chapter 8:

"How went the fishing trip?" Keith asked when he heard the front door open the shared laughter from those walking into the living room.

"She got lucky," Lamb answered.

"Jealous, much?" she asked as she looked up at him.

"What happened?" Keith asked, looking to the cooler Lamb had in his hand.

"First catch of the day was a fisherman's boot," he grinned.

"Which just happened to have a fish swimming in it by the time we pulled it up," Veronica added.

"Boot fish? That's what we're having for dinner?" Keith asked, trying his hardest not to laugh.

"No, it was too small. I threw it back," Lamb answered. "But we've got some good ones in here. You're not takin' 'em all though. I've got big grilling plans of my own for some of these," he went on as he headed into the kitchen.

"A boot? Really?" Keith Veronica again, nearly injuring himself as he continued to try to refrain from laughing.

"It was the hook's fault," she huffed. Though she couldn't deny she had enjoyed the teamwork it had taken to bring the boot up. Of course the mocking she was sure to endure twofold now was less desirable, but oh well.

"Well at least the day sounds like it was some success," Keith called out.

"Yeah," Lamb called back through his search for a cutting board. "Kinda looking forward to a repeat."

"Oh? Is that what you've got planned for tomorrow?" he asked, looking between them.

"I was promised a movie," Veronica answered.

"So you two are still getting along well then, that's nice," Keith replied with a smile. The concern in his voice was lost on his daughter, however.

"Yeah, I still don't get why Lilly and the others don't want to hang out with us. He's really a lot of fun despite being a deputy and what Lilly deems old."

"You know you'll have to spend time with your friends your own age at some point, don't you?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, but I like these weekends. Lamb's just easier to get along with then the others."

Don, having overheard their conversation without even trying, only smiled to himself as he finished prepping the fish. Veronica was finally telling her father what she had told him. He wouldn't have to be the one to do it, that much was a relief. He also knew what conversation he was about to be in for, but at least in the meantime he was able to enjoy once again hearing he was Veronica's favorite person to spend time with.

And that conversation Don had more than hoped to avoid finally came on Tuesday night just as he was getting ready to head home.

Things like, "I'm not sure you should still be spending so much time with Veronica" and, "I would appreciate if you would work harder to convince her to spend more time with her friends" and, "Now might be a good time to distance yourself more from her" were all Keith seemed to be saying. Even if he had tried to sugarcoat it by telling him he was grateful for having done this for him and how even he had enjoyed having him around.

When Keith had then gone on to inform him he would be spending the next night on a stakeout with Sacks he failed to conceal all of his disappointment. He had gotten used to seeing Veronica during the middle of the week, having her bring dinner for her father and or him, getting to talk about their plans for the upcoming weekend. It had become a routine he had enjoyed. Though he realized Keith had to have noticed too. Veronica always showed up on Wednesday nights, always with food, and the fact she wasn't shy about her occasional public displays of affection couldn't have helped.

"Someone order a turkey sub?" Veronica chirped as she knocked on her father's open door and held up the bag.

"That I did," he smiled back to her, relieved to see that she only had the one bag with her.

Meanwhile Lamb had managed to convince Sacks to get them their dinner from the burger joint around the corner while he waited in the unmarked car for the alleged drug dealers they were staking out.

Blessed distraction came in the form of his vibrating cell phone a minute later. It managed to shake him from his reverie of just how Veronica was handling the night herself and what she would have brought him if he was at the station.

_I owe u 1 trky sub,_ the text read. He smiled. So much for wondering what his dinner would have been. With that he knew he had to see her. Even if he couldn't in the traditional sense, he knew a way that he could.

A few button presses later he was seeing Veronica's smiling face staring back at him. He laughed to himself when he saw the pictures of him she had taken. And then there were the few pictures of them together on the boat, standing maybe a little too close to one another, smiling all the while.

It had really been a day he hoped he would never forget and as dangerous as he knew it was to keep the images, he couldn't bring himself to delete them just yet. When this was over he knew he would want to remember this, for just in case she really did still want him when turned eighteen.

"You get a call?" Sacks asked as he climbed back into the car.

"No," he answered quickly, trying to turn his phone off as quickly as he could.

"Blonde, huh? Not surprised," the mustached deputy chuckled to himself, having seen a glimpse of the image his friend had been staring at.

Lamb only sighed as he tucked his phone back into his pocket. Nothing he could say would fix this. He could lie, which wouldn't make a difference. He could tell the truth which would only make things worse. Or he could just keep quiet and hope Sacks would take the hint.

"That reminds me, Keith's still got you baby-sitting Veronica, doesn't he?"

"I'm not her baby-sitter," he replied with a slight shift in his seat. The were supposed to be staking out this alleged crack house and if there was ever a night he would rather sit in silence with Sacks it was tonight. But here he was, having to combat his friend's growing curiosity.

"What do you two do anyway? The idea of you and a teenage girl, just you shaping a young mind -"

"Do you wish Keith had asked you to hang out with her instead? Is that it?" He just wanted Sacks to shut up, any way to get that silence would do.

"No," Sacks answered with a firm shake of his head. "I just can't imagine you doing more then maybe watching TV with her while she eats all the ice cream in your freezer."

Lamb just shook his head. It didn't matter. Sacks didn't need to know what they did during their time. I_Their time._/I Frak!

By the time he got home he just wanted to sleep, to forget this whole night and be one day closer to Saturday. Even if that was when he was supposed to distance himself from Veronica.

He realized just how much more difficult that would be when he walked into his apartment to find her sitting on his black leather sofa.

"You're home," she smiled as she stood.

He glanced to his watch. It was after eleven. "Veronica, what are you doing here? Does your dad know - "

"Like I'd tell him I was coming by to see my favorite deputy at his apartment? I don't think so, I prefer you alive. He's still at the station anyway, booking those guys you and Sacks busted tonight. Good going, by the way."

"Yeah, thanks," he sighed. He could already imagine Keith kicking in his door, shotgun in hand. "It's late, Veronica."

"I told you I owed you a turkey sub. And I admit I kind of didn't want tonight to go by without our weekly not-so-surprise dinner delivery. I heard you were on a stakeout and I doubted you'd had anything real to eat, so here," she told him as she handed him the bag.

Don could only smile as he took it. It was still warm. This girl was too sweet, and a little too obvious, for her own good. And likely for his. "Thank you. And I don't want you to think I'm kicking you out, but -"

"You've got to be up early for work?" she asked with a half-smile.

"Yeah, I do. Your dad's got me working a double and I can't be late." He knew he sounded a little more disappointed and tired than he had hoped, but this girl was trouble through and through and given that Keith wanted him spending less time with her already he knew that the last place she should be was here.

"I'll see you Saturday then, Deputy," she grinned before stretching up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

He had let her, his eyes closing briefly from the second he felt her soft lips brush against his face. Really part of him was surprised she had waited this long to do it, but he had also been thankful. Even more so that she had never tried in front of her father.

His thankfulness was short-lived however when he felt her lips leave his cheek only to plant a lingering kiss to the side of his chin. He couldn't even be surprised when her lips grazed his. She was only sixteen, it was after eleven - on a school night - and she was alone with him in his apartment. And now she was kissing him.

It was slow and tentative and Veronica was far too distracted by the fact she was finally acting on the want she'd had since she first set eyes on Lamb to notice that he wasn't touching her beyond their chaste lip to lip exchange. To be fair, she hadn't exactly been wrapping herself around him either.

When she finally pulled back, returning to reality, she had no idea what she would see and for that she was almost afraid to look up into Lamb's eyes. Would he be angry? Throw her out? Tell her father? Tell her he couldn't spend time with her anymore?

"Veronica -" he tried.

"I'm sorry," she told him quickly, holding her hands up and taking a step back. "I don't know why -"

"I do. I know you like me, Veronica and that's okay, to a degree. There are just some lines we can't cross. And not just because your dad would kill me. I like spending time with you, but there are just certain things -"

"I know. I know, I just - I'm sorry," she repeated before picking up her purse and all but running out of his apartment without looking back.


	9. One Last Night

Title: The Bachelor and the Sheriff's Daughter (9/11)  
Rating: PG-13 (for language and innuendo)  
Summary: Keith requests that Lamb spend time with 16-year-old Veronica to curb her crush on the deputy. Only Keith hadn't imagined his plan backfiring.  
Spoilers: None for this chapter  
Pairing/Characters: Eventual V/Lamb, Keith, Lilly, Sacks, mentions Lianne, Aaron, canon Lilly/Logan and canon Dick/Madison  
Word Count: 1896 (this chapter)  
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: Yes, this was inspired by "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" but it holds no spoilers for the film and you don't need to see it in order to understand this.

* * *

Chapter 9:

Veronica still wasn't feeling any less embarrassed come Saturday afternoon. She was surprised to hear from her father that Lamb hadn't tried to get out of seeing her, but she had almost tried to claim she was sick to avoid seeing him again so soon.

Really, it wasn't a complete lie. Her nerves had her stomach in knots and she was sure she might really be sick any minute. All she could remember was that one minute she had been sane and had literally just wanted to see him and bring him a decent dinner. And the next she was kissing him.

In that moment, that one moment that had continued to play over and over in her mind, she had known not her age or his, nothing of what was considered wrong or right, only that his lips were warm, soft and tasted like his cinnamon gum. He hadn't touched her which also made her wonder if he had just been that surprised or if he had wanted to show he wouldn't take advantage.

Now she had to get her game face on. Lamb was on his way and last she had heard they had planned a movie for today. A dark theater alone with him? _At least in theory he won't see how uncomfortable I am? And yay for armrests. Armrests are good._

When Don realized that Veronica apparently planned to spend the whole car ride in silence, he decided to break it. Comfortable silences with her he could handle, but this was anything but. Stopped at a red light he finally took the chance.

"Veronica -"

"We don't still have to do this, you know. If you want to take me back home, it's okay."

"I don't want you to think you can't still talk to me. What happened the other night doesn't have to change anything. Really, I hope it hasn't."

Veronica glanced to him, her eyes still refusing to meet his. "Could we just pretend like it didn't happen?"

"If that's what you want," he nodded. Thankfully he didn't know the protocol that was called for after an infatuated sixteen-year-old girl kissed you, but at the same time he could tell how anxious she was.

"I really thought you'd tell my dad," she told him with a nervous sigh.

He shook his head as the light turned green and he began to drive again. "He doesn't need to know, it was between us and I don't think either of us meant for it to happen. And honestly, if you want to kiss me again when you're eighteen, hey, I won't stop you. And your dad doesn't need to know I said that either."

That got a laugh out of her, more relieved than anything. "Careful, I might hold you to that, Deputy."

"Okay then, I'm glad we got that settled," he smiled over to her.

Now that she was paying attention, she noticed something about the direction he was headed. "This isn't the way to the theater."

"I told you we'd be spending today watching movies, I didn't technically say they'd be at a movie theater."

"Then -"

"Somewhere you haven't been since Wednesday night," he cut in before she could ask.

"Are you really sure that's a good idea?"

"Why not? I trust you. Besides, I told you I had big grilling plans for some of that fish we caught. What better way to put it to use then making us some dinner after a movie marathon?"

She smiled. So much for getting to hide in the darkness of a theater, separated from him by an armrest, but at least now she didn't feel like she needed either the darkness or a barrier.

When she had gotten so engrossed in the second movie she wasn't sure, but she noticed when Lamb got up and headed towards his kitchen.

"Is it time for dinner?"

"I was thinking about it. So, last chance, how do you want it? Grilled, broiled or otherwise?"

"I do like the sound of grilled salmon."

"You got it," he smiled.

Keeping up the façade since they had gotten to his apartment hadn't been easy. She had really relaxed after their conversation in the car, which was good. But he hadn't. With her sitting so close to him on his sofa he had been able to do nothing but inhale the sweet scent of her which was proving to be more addictive than it should have been. Her closeness had proved to be even worse, he hadn't even thought about it when he draped his arm over the back of the sofa behind her. The fact he had been watching her more than the frat boy comedy she had picked out had even further proved what he had feared admitting.

He couldn't keep doing this. Spending time with her, probably leading her on, wanting to spend even more time with her when he was supposed to be convincing her to spend more time with her school friends and distancing himself from her. His only hope was that he could at least make it through dinner. One last meal, one last night with her.

"Need any help?" she asked what had to be almost an hour later, Lamb nearly jumping back a full step when he realized she was right beside him.

"No, it's almost ready," he stated as he reached for the lemon juice.

"Are you okay, Lamb?" she asked as she followed him back into the living room.

"Yeah," he lied with a short sigh as he took his seat. As much as he wanted to blame Keith for this he knew he couldn't. It wasn't his mentor's fault, well not completely, that he had ended up falling for the man's daughter. It had just been thanks to him that this sickness had become too much for him to ignore. He looked to his watch. Two more hours.

"Do you want to go ahead and take me home?" Veronica asked even as she followed his lead and sat beside him. She couldn't remember the last time he had been this quiet around her and it was bothering more than she hoped to have him know.

"Veronica, I -"

"I knew this was a bad idea," she said as she sat her plate on the coffee table and stood from the sofa, unable to have been surprised earlier at him not having a kitchen or dining room table. It was a bachelor pad after all, the real money going into his plasma screen, DVD collection, leather sofa and likely his bedroom.

"It's not what you think, Veronica," he tried as he followed her lead.

"You don't have to let me down easy, I get it. I messed up, I messed all of this up. I just -"

By then Lamb couldn't even think and he knew just how well he was about to prove it when he reached out and took her face in his hands. In just another moment he was dipping his head and capturing her lips in a kiss that proved he had wanted her just as much as she had wanted him if not more so.

Veronica melted into the kiss more easily than she had hoped, but he was kissing her, kissing her like he had thought of nothing but that since she had kissed him. There was nothing chaste about it. All teeth and tongue, strong, hot, demanding and soon left them both gasping for air.

"I think I'm getting mixed signals here," Veronica sighed out after another moment, still waiting for her lungs to recover.

Don almost chuckled. Yeah, he could say the same. His head was screaming for him to get her out of there, his heart hurt at the mere idea of what he knew he had to do and he refused to listen to what was being demanded from below his belt.

"Was that, 'no, Veronica, stay' or was that a 'we're even' kiss?"

He sighed as he ran a hand through his short hair. "I told you that if you want to kiss me again when you're eighteen you're more than welcome. But this, especially now, I thought I could do this. But I can't. I don't know how I lasted this long. Your father would kill me if he knew what I was thinkin' and as much as I want to, I can't do this anymore."

"Kiss me?" Her heart was racing. She couldn't lose her deputy like this. Especially not when she was so close to actually getting him.

He shook his head. "That either. But these weekends, this time we've been spending together. Until you're eighteen, this has to be the last time."

"Told you we should've gone to the theater," she tried to joke, trying to take the sting out of this.

He gave a half-hearted laugh. "Veronica, I probably would've kissed you tonight no matter where we were. I think I'm just damn lucky that it was here where no one else would see it."

That got a small smile out of her, knowing that he would have kissed her anyway. But the rest of this still hurt. No more Lamb-filled weekends? Could he really be serious?

She didn't want to believe it, but he was pulling into her driveway fifteen minutes later and refused to let him see the toll this was taking on her. She knew when she got out of his car tonight that it would be for the last time and that he likely wouldn't even look back. She was nowhere near ready for that.

"It's been fun, Deputy," she tried to smile.

He nodded. "Yeah. Just do me a favor?"

She tilted her head as if to ask what it was. Not telling her father was obvious, she had already agreed to that.

"Don't completely forget about me when those high school boys start taking you out?"

She laughed. "Not a chance, Don."

His name. One more thing he would miss, hearing her say his name like that. In silence he watched as she climbed out of the car, not want wanting her to see this was almost as difficult for him.

Veronica had been wrong about one thing at least. He had looked back when turned the car around to leave.

"Veronica?" Keith called when he heard the door close.

"Yeah, it's me," she answered after taking a deep breath.

"It's early. Is everything okay?"

"You know how you want me to spend more time with Lilly and Logan and Duncan? Well you got your wish. Lamb said that after tonight no more weekends of hanging out together."

"Did something happen?" He hadn't meant for Lamb to be so abrupt despite knowing in the end it might be best.

"No," she answered quickly. "We were just having dinner and he said that he thought it was time I got back to my old friends."

For Veronica Keith tried to conceal his thrill. Don had done what he said he would do. And it had apparently worked. Maybe Veronica hadn't completely lost interest in the deputy but at least he knew his deputy had been an adult about the situation and had taken control. That impressed him.

It would prove to be one of the last things Lamb would do that year that would impress him favorably.


	10. Go See the Wizard

Title: The Bachelor and the Sheriff's Daughter (10/11)  
Rating: PG-13 (for language and innuendo)  
Summary: Keith requests that Lamb spend time with 16-year-old Veronica to curb her crush on the deputy. Only Keith hadn't imagined his plan backfiring.  
Spoilers: Pilot - 3x14  
Pairing/Characters: Eventual V/Lamb, Keith, Lilly, Sacks, mentions Lianne, Aaron, canon Lilly/Logan and canon Dick/Madison  
Word Count: 3395 (this chapter)  
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: Yes, this was inspired by "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" but it holds no spoilers for the film and you don't need to see it in order to understand this. 

* * *

Chapter 10:

Lamb had been keeping his distance from both Marses as best he could after that night and finally the day was October 2nd. It had only been a few months since the last time Deputy Lamb had set foot in the Mars home and now Veronica's best friend and the daughter of one of the most prominent families in all of Neptune had been murdered.

The events that would shatter the world as Neptune knew it were being set in motion and before anyone knew it Keith had been grilling Jake Kane like there was no tomorrow, accusing him of murdering his own daughter.

When Lianne had taken all she could of it, she had left both Keith and Veronica behind. Keith had lost his job as sheriff, Lamb had been elected almost immediately to replace him and nothing would be the same again.

Despite the hell she had already faced from her friends turning their backs on her, Veronica discovered a whole new ring of hell when she awoke alone in the guest room of Shelly Pomroy's house, her underwear on the floor. There was only one person she felt she could go to and he wasn't even the man she remembered.

He proved just how much he had changed, how much crueler he had become when he laughed and dismissed her, telling her to go see the wizard even as she cried.

Life was tough and she toughened up right along with it after that. Her friends were no longer her friends, her life had changed completely and she would never again be who or what she had been.

Over the course of the next three years she had found a new sort of place for herself, new friends, new enemies and any day that she could trip up the sheriff was a good day.

At least until he had listened to her on a few cases and even agreed to work with her on a few others. Of course he had claimed that she had been the one playing by the rules and working with him, but it didn't matter. What did matter was they had somehow begun to build some semblance of a professional relationship. A beginning to rebuild their broken friendship? Perhaps. She tried not to think about it. She had happily blocked most of those memories from her mind.

And just when she thought they were better off as whatever they were now she had been listening to the radio on her way to Mars Investigations to talk to her father about Josh.

_Sheriff Lamb is still in intensive care._ Her heart all but stopped as her mind replayed those words. She had loved him once, hated him, wanted him, considered him a joke - now all of that was blurring together. All that she knew in that moment, stopped at that stop sign, was that Lamb couldn't die. So many around her had died already and even if he at times did prove himself to be the devil, she knew nothing would be the same if he died.

Part of her wanted to turn her Saturn right around and go to the hospital to see him, but she knew she would never be let in this soon. Even if she had the fake ID with her that pronounced her as Veronica Lamb, it wouldn't matter. Not for another few hours.

Twenty minutes later she was standing in her father's office instead, listening to his end of the conversation as he talked to the county commissioner.

Veronica was already practically clinging to the door frame for support as she watched her father stand from his chair and look down at the phone as though he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"He said that Sheriff Lamb is dead," he told her sharply. No more preparation than that, no warning. Simply those words.

Had everything just gone into slow motion or was it just her?

"Veronica?" Keith called as he watched her knees give way and saw her land seated on the floor.

"Yeah, Dad?" she asked with a few rapid blinks.

"Are you alright?" She didn't look hurt, but clearly the news had stunned her.

"Yeah. Fine. I gotcha. Lamb's dead. I heard you." Then as she glanced around the room she noticed something was off. "How'd I end up on the floor?"

Keith sighed. Shock, not quite the reaction he had imagined but he decided he could deal with it. He was just about to help her to her feet when the phone rang again. It would be the county commissioner informing him when he was supposed to be at the station as the acting sheriff, he knew. "Veronica, for now, just stay here. I'll take you home when I get off the phone."

Veronica nodded, though the distraction only brought an onslaught of memories. Many of which she had believed to be long forgotten. Lamb's smile, his defiant smirk, how he had hugged her, the times when she had proven she was smarter, the times when she had laughed with him and later at him… It didn't end. Not until she heard her father trying to get her attention.

"Veronica," he said again.

"Yeah?" she asked, looking up at him, the tears she would claim weren't there still stinging her eyes.

"That was Sacks. I don't know who you were praying to just now, or just what kind of favors the good sheriff's racked up, but he's alive."

"What?" If this was a joke she knew she would shoot someone. This wasn't anywhere near the realm of funny.

"Lamb died for almost a minute, it seems someone was quick to assume the worst. But they got him back, Sacks said that as acting sheriff and the closest thing to family Lamb has I need to get to the hospital. Are you going to be okay?"

She nodded. He was alive. "Yeah. I just - I need to get something. I'll meet you there."

Keith didn't even have time to protest before Veronica was on her feet, grabbing her purse and heading for the door.

At the hospital, Keith took the manila envelope that contained Lamb's belongings from the duty nurse almost as soon as he walked into the building. His cell phone, keys, wallet and watch were all that were there. What else he had been expecting to find in the envelope he didn't know. Nothing about this day made sense but here he was all the same.

Knowing he would be left to fill out the paperwork, he pulled out Lamb's wallet and began to go through it in search of his insurance information, emergency contact card, anything that would help.

Going through it, he found his driver's license, credit cards, about $50 in cash and a folded piece of laminated paper he couldn't decipher. After pulling out what he had been looking for he tried to put the folded piece of laminated paper out of his mind. It wasn't his business.

To be honest, he had wished none of this had been his business but he had been there when Lamb was attacked, he had been his employer, he would be the acting sheriff for the time being and Lamb didn't have anyone else. At least not that anyone knew of.

Going through the potentially dying man's wallet wasn't something he was enjoying, but the laminated paper looked to be the kind of a photo strip one would get from a photo booth. He knew that if Lamb wasn't alone in that series of pictures then he would be with someone that he would probably have to notify. If he was lucky the person's name would be written on the back.

As he unfolded it he saw the last face he expected smiling back at him from over Lamb's shoulder and he most certainly didn't need to see the girl's name to know exactly who she was. Her arms were wrapped around the then-deputy's shoulders and his hand to where hers were clasped around him. In the next they were seated just beside one another, laughing. The third showed them just sitting cheek to cheek, neither smiling that time but instead giving a shared smoldering look into the camera. Finally it seemed they had decided to reverse the first shot, Veronica being the one seated with Lamb's chin resting on her shoulder, his arms wrapped around her waist.

Veronica's long hair in the pictures proved to him that it was an old photo strip, clearly years old from the weekends he had ordered them to share. He had always known they had enjoyed their time together, but this was still a surprise. He realized then just why Veronica had seemed so shocked when he repeated what the county commissioner had told him. Clearly Lamb hadn't been the only one who remembered those days.

"How is he? Have they said anything?" he heard come from his right.

"They're working on keeping him stabilized," he answered when he saw Veronica was beside him. "Did you get what you needed?"

Veronica glanced to her purse. "Yeah." Then she looked to what her father still had in his hand. "What's that?"

"I was going through Lamb's wallet to see if he had any of his medical information in here and I found this."

Veronica took it when Keith offered it to her. She recognized it immediately despite having tried to put that day as far from her memory as she could. She had no idea Lamb had kept this, couldn't have even imagined. Especially after four years and all they had put each other through. How worn the center crease looked to be proved how much he apparently took it out, looked back to it, reminisced for better or worse, refolded it and put it right back in his wallet.

She thought back to her own set from the same day, she had kept hers mostly hidden from even herself in a box in the back of her closet. Meanwhile Lamb had clearly kept his copy close. Who knew he had a sentimental streak?

"Any idea why he'd still have that?" Keith asked her.

"Maybe he hasn't cleaned out his wallet in four years?" she offered. It was obvious her father wasn't convinced, but what else could she say?

It would be a long night of waiting, Veronica knew, but when Keith finally was called away to the station she knew she would stay where she was. Keith left her with Lamb's things and save for her trips to get coffee, she continued to wait for any word from his doctor or nurses. She needed to hear that he was going to make it, that he was awake, that he wouldn't leave her like so many others had.

No guards had been posted outside his door. _Why would they? Batando's dead. You can thank Sacks later_. No doctors or nurses had been by in almost a half an hour, the last she heard being that he was stable but they wouldn't know anything until he woke up.

_If he woke up._ The thought made her shudder.

Still, she took her chance while she had it, sneaking into his room, his things in her purse that she set between her feet as she sat in the chair that she had pulled to the side of his bed.

He looked so human to her then, she almost couldn't believe it was him. He was too pale and she had to fight to not imagine the sight that her father had described to her earlier again. Of Batando bringing the bat down onto his head, his blood pooling on the carpet beneath him… She couldn't. She wouldn't let him wake up to find her crying over him. _If he wakes up,_ that damn voice in the back of her mind reminded her.

"So you took the fishing pictures off of your phone but kept this one from the arcade?" she asked as she looked back to the photo strip still between her slender fingers. "Why?"

He didn't answer, couldn't answer, not that she expected him to. She had typically had the upper hand in their conversations, why should now be any different?

"Guess I get to chalk this up to another thing I'll never understand. Like how you could kiss me the same night you said we had to end our weekends. Or how you could tell me to go see the wizard after all of that. I was really counting on you and now you've got me doing it again. Counting on you to not die and I can't even pretend to understand the reason for it. It's not like I have a shortage of people who hate me and yet here I am. At your beside. Hoping you don't die."

She finally looked to him again, having to even if not wanting to. So many cords, wires and tubes. The rhythmic beeping of the monitors had been irritating at first but she knew those sounds to be better than any alternative. Save for maybe him barking orders back at the station.

"I missed you, you know? You didn't want me to forget you when I started going out with Duncan and I realized I couldn't even if I wanted to. Somehow beating him at the games you and I played just wasn't the same. And what would Neptune be without its wizard, huh? Or do you prefer the Wicked Witch? Because, really I see more the Cowardly Lion. Or did before you started sort of trusting me again. And the Scarecrow, well, I guess there were better days for that comparison."

She had to stop herself there, having heard the likelihood of Lamb being left even partially brain damaged after today's incident had rendered jokes pertaining to his mental deficiencies much less funny in the last six hours.

But her mind, often like her, refused to be stopped. She thought of the Tin Man next. And she had Aaron Echolls' love of a band she remembered having had a song about how Oz never gave the Tin Man nothing that he didn't already have. It fit in her mind.

She was his personal Dorothy, though she was sure he would accuse her of being his Wicked Witch. As for Glinda… _Now there's someone Neptune could use._

Before she knew it she was humming what she could remember of the song. At least it was better than something from the movie she was trying to put out of her mind or its subsequent musical.

"Miss?" she heard a woman's voice call.

Shaken from her reverie she looked to the older nurse. "Uh, hi," she tried to smile.

"You can't be in here unless -"

"I'm family," she nodded quickly. The words were out of her mouth before she even realized she had thought them. Maybe she hadn't thought them at all, it didn't matter, they were echoing in her ears all the same.

The woman looked her over, then looked to her comatose patient and left the room a moment later even if against her better judgment.

To get a doctor? To call security? Veronica didn't want to think about the possibilities. They would have to break out the big guns to get her out of here tonight. Like her father, who just happened to be working the O'Dell case now. What was one more thing she didn't need to be thinking about?

"Well that was a close one," she sighed to her still sleeping nemesis. "You know, you're a lot easier to talk to like this. No rape humor, no deflection, no blatant disregards for truth, no crude remarks. Who knows, maybe we'd still be friends if this had happened sooner," she tried to laugh. But even then it felt forced.

Lamb could almost feel himself being brought back to the land of the living. A voice, saying his name, sounding so far away. Almost like when his mother would call him inside for dinner when he had been out playing basketball with his neighborhood friends when he was a kid. But something about this was different. For once thing he knew it was taking him way too long to wake up or open his eyes and for another he couldn't seem to move.

"Think of Sacks," she went on, "he's guaranteed to blame himself for not having shot Batando sooner or calling for an ambulance sooner then he did. And just think how much fun you'll have taking your job from my dad again."

She kept telling him whatever she could think of to force him to come back. Deflecting her own ways when it came to those in his life who would miss him. She refused to mention herself, she couldn't admit to him even like this that she needed him to live for her own stupid, selfish reasons. So what if part of her would always be in love with him - that damn sixteen-year-old girl inside of her who had never fallen out of love with the blue-eyed deputy? She'd be lying comatose here herself before she would admit it.

His eyes began to open when she had gotten to mentioning Cliff, catching bits of a monologue about his strip club buddy, about the dancers he would never help put through school like this.

So lose in her diatribe, she had missed the exact moment when his eyes attempted to focus on the all too white ceiling tiles above him. While he tried to piece together where he was and how he had gotten here, Veronica had moved on to talking about all the innocent people he would never see behind bars or at the very least in handcuffs at this rate.

"I always expected an angel at the pearly gates, not some bitter, young pixie," he managed despite his far too dry throat.

She gasped, her eyes finally meeting his. "Lamb?"

"What. The. Fuck." His head was in agony, he still couldn't move and she was there. From the blinding lights that only added to the worst migraine he could remember ever having - and given some of his hangovers from his college partying days that was pretty impressive - and a strong smell of antiseptic that made him sick to his stomach he could gather he had to be in a hospital.

Veronica calling out for a nurse or doctor or whoever was closest confirmed his suspicion.

But why would he be in the hospital? Had his gun backfired when he shot the mirror?

"You say he's awake?" he heard a man's voice ask. It wasn't familiar.

"Yeah. He just started talking," she nodded, failing to conceal the hope in her voice.

"Sheriff?" the doctor asked as he shined his penlight into his eyes, checking to see if his concussion had lessened at all.

"What?" he asked, trying to turn his all too sore head from the light.

"Do you know where you are?"

Veronica heard him ask if he was in the hospital, heard him mention being at Mindy O'Dell's house after the doctor asked what the last thing he remembered was. When she had sat again she couldn't remember, all that mattered was that Lamb was alive, he was awake and he was talking. Maybe he wasn't making a lot of sense but Veronica considered that normal for him so that was clearly a start.

The next day Don awoke to find Veronica was back in that chair by his bed. With a magazine in her hands, her boots off and her legs crossed just in front of her. He was almost afraid to ask how long she had been there for.

"Who do I have to threaten around here to get some coffee?" he asked finally, licking his almost painfully chapped lips.

"I suppose that depends on who the first barista you see after you're discharged from here is," she deadpanned from behind the magazine. She could be flippant now, now that he didn't seem to be at death's door anymore. She would never let him see how scared she had honestly been the day before.

Of course that fact wasn't going to stop her from camping out at his bedside for as long as she could get away with.


	11. Home At Last

Title: The Bachelor and the Sheriff's Daughter (11/11)  
Rating: PG-13 (for language and innuendo)  
Summary: Keith requests that Lamb spend time with 16-year-old Veronica to curb her crush on the deputy. Only Keith hadn't imagined his plan backfiring.  
Spoilers: 3x14  
Pairing/Characters: Eventual V/Lamb, Keith, Lilly, Sacks, mentions Lianne, Aaron, canon Lilly/Logan and canon Dick/Madison  
Word Count: 1994 (this chapter)  
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: Yes, this was inspired by "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" but it holds no spoilers for the film and you don't need to see it in order to understand this.  
A/N #2: And a huge, huge thank you to those of you who've stuck with this fic - we're finally here. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 11:

A week later and he was still in that damn bed, but it had been easier for him when he would see Veronica always perched on that chair. When she slept, when she went to class, he didn't know. Had he always been knocked out from the pain medications when she left or had she really been there the whole time? Her clothes changed, her breath always fresh save for when she had been drinking the coffee she had to have brought with her and only once could he remember her not looking as though she had showered in a day and that had been when he had first woken up. Passed out from the pain meds it was, he decided.

Still, Veronica Mars did care about him. Who knew? The flowers, he knew, had come from the department. Inga, specifically. A card from Keith, likely hand delivered from the younger Mars still stood on the table across from his bed. Never in a million years could he have imagined this. Though it made sense to him that she had been watching him to see if he was faking, just trying to get out of working and would bust him on it.

He almost laughed at the joke being on her. He mostly had the use of his limbs back but it was clear, even to him, he wasn't going anywhere just yet.

It was a Wednesday, another two weeks later, when they finally released him. And sure enough Veronica was still there, even offering to drive him home. With a smile no less. He would still have to come back in a week for a follow-up just to be sure he was still recovering properly, but aside from that he was pretty much free to return to most aspects of his life.

"How many times have you been here while I was laid up in the hospital?" he asked when he realized she was unlocking his front door with a key on her own key ring, not even having asked for his.

Veronica only smirked in reply as she pushed his door open and led him inside. Someone had to make sure it was presentable and that his old food had been thrown out and replaced. And if his beers had subsequently gone missing as a result, oh well, at least he couldn't blame her for encouraging his bad habits.

If it was any other situation she might have sat down and had a beer with him even though she knew he would be sure to threaten to bust her on underage drinking. But until the doctors told him he could drink she wasn't letting alcohol into that apartment. Even if that meant taking up temporary residence.

Without any further hesitation since it didn't look like she had booby trapped his home, Lamb walked over and plopped down on his sofa, ready to spend some quality time with his DVR and plasma screen.

Veronica paused and took a breath when her eyes fell on the coffee table. She hadn't forgotten that she had put it there, only readying herself for when he would notice it.

The moment of truth came sooner than she expected, seeing him look to it, glance to his TV remote at the other end of the table and then back to the slim plastic frame.

The slim plastic frame that contained what he hadn't had time to realize was missing from his wallet. He never even knew they made frames for photo strips. But of course Veronica would know they did.

"You kept that for all these years? Why?" she asked, seeing him pick it up and examine it, clearly wondering if this was in fact his strip or hers.

Looking to how happy she was in that series of pictures, how happy she had been with him, he couldn't believe she would even have to ask.

"Guess I'm more of a masochist then I knew."

She could buy that. "Why keep it in your wallet if it's not part of a potential conquest set or something?" She had seen everything that had been in his wallet, that photo strip was the only personal photo of any kind. Anything else that had his face on it was some form of photo ID.

He wasn't about to go into his feelings with her, how he had kept that as a reminder of when she had looked at him like he was her hero, when he had been her favorite person aside from her father. Instead he decided to embrace the side of him she had decided she knew best.

"Well?"

"It's the best reminder I've got just how dangerous little girls can be."

She almost laughed. "Yeah, because I was definitely knocking over convenience stores and riding with a biker gang and -"

"You damn near got me killed more then once."

"I never told you to have a hard on for a sixteen-year-old. That was _all_ you.

"Because I told you to wear that bikini on the boat? Or grind back into me when we were bowling? Yeah, nice try," he sighed even as he watched her finally move from her spot against his countertop bar and walk towards him.

"You kissed me," she countered as she sauntered over, taking the seat beside him.

"You kissed me first," he smirked, not even thinking when he brought his arm up to rest on the back of the sofa behind her. "And that's not even taking into account that shoulder massage you gave me right in the middle of the station."

"Weren't you hit on the head? How the hell are you remembering all of this?"

He laughed. "Maybe that bat did more good then harm. I'm here, aren't I? With you?"

"Only because I don't trust you to be left to your own devices."

"Sorry, all I got out of that was that you want me to replace your devices," he told her with a more than slightly suggestive grin.

She rolled her eyes. "Still as crude as ever, I see."

"Don't act like you don't love me for it."

"So if you still have that photo strip, what about those pictures from that day on the boat?"

"The ones of the scantily-clad sixteen-year-old daughter of my then-boss? I'm guessing the same thing that happened to the ones you had on your phone." He caught her slight wince and it confirmed exactly what he had thought. Hers were long gone too. "You know, Sacks asked me about those. I think we're both lucky he hadn't seen enough to know they were of you."

"So you're really convinced you learned your lesson with those so-called dangerous little girls, huh?" she asked as she moved closer to him.

"Absolutely," he nodded. "It's just those pain in the ass nineteen-year-olds I seem to be having an issue with now," he smirked.

"Yeah, I see your problem. I mean, they go through all the trouble of keeping you company when you're in the hospital for three weeks, solve your more difficult cases for you, clean your apartment so it's presentable when you get home from said hospital and make sure your DVR was set for '24' so you'd have something to watch when you got back to said clean apartment…"

He had to admit he was a little shocked. She really had done all of that for him. Because she was glad he had lived? Because she felt she had to do something? Because she was avoiding her friends again?

"You know, all that talk about those weekends just reminded me of something."

"Uh oh, you're thinking. It doesn't hurt too much, does it?" She was only half-kidding.

"Very funny, Mars. No. And you are not forcing another doctor on me. I've been poked and prodded enough. I'm fine. Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I seem to recall telling you that if you wanted to kiss me after you were eighteen that I wouldn't stop you."

"That was a big 'if' to a hormone-ridden teenager," she volleyed.

"Okay. Well at least now that you're legal I don't have to worry as much about getting my balls shot off for this -" he stated just before he moved in and all but crushed his lips to hers as he kissed her. Blissful seconds of silence, save for the few short breaths they took, followed. No more threats, no more accusations, no more talk of the past, just the action they were finally able to give in to.

Veronica managed to even surprise herself when her mouth slanted against his, her tongue seeking out his own, her body now somehow as close to his as possible, enjoying the feel of his hands to her face and holding her to him. As for her own, she had one to his back, knowing it would be a while before she could grasp his hair without causing him the wrong kind of pain and the other grasping his shoulder.

"Consider that your thank you for keeping me company while I was stuck in the hospital," he sighed out when they finally parted for their much needed gulps of air.

More than a little breathless still herself, her eyes still half-hooded, feeling how flushed she was all over, Veronica couldn't stop herself from asking, "A- And just what might I get if I told you I'd planned to make you dinner tonight?"

"Your choice of dessert," he grinned.

"You've been out of the hospital for all of an hour and you're already propositioning me?"

"Someone's wishful thinking is showing. I never said you would be on the menu."

She glared. They both knew damn well that was what he meant and if she had visions of a pair of handcuffs dangling from his headboard and putting to use the can of whipped cream she had in his fridge, she wasn't about to admit it then. And even if she had that kind of welcome home gift planned it was going to wait until she was sure it wouldn't do more harm than good to that slightly dented head of his. Of course this did nothing to lessen her wonder of just how much he really used it.

"I'm taking that offer to mean you remember what I like," he told her, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her closer. How had they managed those two inches of distance? One of them had to fix that, may as well be him.

"I've got steaks if you've still got a grill."

"You've clearly been here more in this last month then I have been. You tell me."

She grinned and laid her arms over his shoulders. "You do."

"So how about that _tasty_ dessert I mentioned?" he asked as he dipped his head and peppered kisses along her neck.

"Tell you what, Lamb, when you're all better and I can be sure I won't end up putting you back in the hospital, I'll think about it."

He pulled back and looked at her in the hope she was kidding. She clearly wasn't and he wasn't amused either way. But then if she didn't make him work for it she wouldn't be her. And she apparently cared about keeping him alive, that was a plus. He decided then to take her words as a promise.

"Well then what now?"

"Now, I'm going to grill us those steaks and when I come back we can both get caught up on the last month of '24.' After that we can discuss dessert options," she grinned as she stood. The joke was on him, there was pie in the fridge.

Don hadn't even noticed he was smiling as he watched her head off into the kitchen. He knew then he hadn't had to die, at least not for more than a minute, to be granted heaven.

The End


End file.
